HPP is a cold pasteurization technology that ensures food safety without heat or preservatives, maintaining fresh food characteristics such as flavor and nutritional value, while extending shelf life.

Preservation technology

Steve Smith, president, JBT FoodTech, said it was excited about the rapidly expanding market adoption of HPP across protein and liquid foods, and with Avure, JBT will be able to offer thermal and non-thermal preservation technology.

He said, as part of JBT, Avure, which is based in Erlanger, Kentucky, with a facility in Middletown, Ohio, will benefit from the company’s global salesforce, service support and customer relationships.

"We are particularly excited about welcoming the Avure team to JBT and the access they provide to the rapidly growing market for HPP​," said Tom Giacomini, CEO, JBT Corporation.

"Together, we can now offer our customers around the world a market-leading suite of food preservation technology with broad application across both protein and liquid foods​."

C.A.T & Tipper Tie

In the fourth quarter of 2016, JBT completed acquisitions of Cooling and Applied Technologies (C.A.T.), a producer of chillers, injection, marination, weighing, freezing, and refrigeration systems, primarily for the poultry industry, and Tipper Tie, a provider of engineered production and packaging and related consumables to the food industry.

Giacomini said, through the 2017 to 2019 period, it is targeting annual revenue growth of 9% to 12%, EPS growth of about 15%, and return on invested capital of approximately 15%.

Giacomini added, for 2017, the company anticipates revenue growth of approximately 15%, reflecting organic growth of 3% to 5% and growth from completed acquisitions of about 11%.

JBT expects total segment operating margin in 2017 to expand approximately 50 basis points relative to 2016. It forecasts diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.05 - $3.20, including the dilutive effect of the Avure acquisition, and a net tax benefit of approximately $0.10 per share.